


Small Snake

by SandersRegression



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Gen, Logan Is Trying, Virgil is a little mean but he won’t always be!, goldfish, janus is little, minor amount of cursing, remus is a Good Friend, roman is also small
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:42:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24665566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SandersRegression/pseuds/SandersRegression
Summary: Janus regresses to a childlike mindset when he’s extremely stressed or upset. Remus happens upon him after a nightmare and this is the aftermath.
Relationships: Creativity | Roman Sanders & Dark Creativity | Remus Sanders & Deceit | Janus Sanders, Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders & Deceit | Janus Sanders, Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders & Logic | Logan Sanders, Deceit | Janus Sanders & Logic | Logan Sanders
Comments: 93
Kudos: 212





	1. Chapter 1

Janus awoke with a start. He felt like his heart was racing and his brain felt foggy. Tears formed in his eyes and he could immediately tell he was slipping. With shaking fingers and wobbling legs he was moving over to his closet to look for his box. As panic was starting to set in he found the black unassuming box in his closet. Yanking off the lid and tossing it to the side he dug into the little space items. Onesie, blanket, paci, and his stuffed snake, Kaa, were soon in his possession once more. Quickly pulling on the snake onesie and putting the pacifier in his mouth he held the yellow and black blanket and Kaa closely to his body. He tried to just breathe and remind himself that he was safe and no one was going to hurt him.

He quickly bounded back to his bed and curled up under the blanket with Kaa. The weight of the blanket was soothing and the onesie felt like home. Shuttering with sobs and feeling nothing but fear as the remaining strings of his nightmare firmly held onto his body. His panic only increased to a knock on the door.

“Janus? Are you okay? I heard what sounded like a crash a couple of minutes ago,” Remus asked as he tried the door handle.

“Don’t enter!!!” Yelled a higher pitched voice as Remus swung the door open.

“Dee Dee?” Remus asked as he looked at the blanket mound on the bed.

Remus heard labored breathing coming from the piles of cozy fabric. He cocked an eyebrow as he approached the blanket mound and slowly pulled them back. Whatever he had expected Janus to look like it wasn’t quite this. Janus was shaking and his eyes were red and puffy. Kaa was wrapped in his arms and he looked terrified she would be taken from him.

“Hey Double D,” Remus looked apprehensive, “It’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you or your snake.”

“No no no! You’re not supposed to be here!” Janus was curled in on himself as he held out a shaking finger at Remus. The onesie only helped him look much like a snake about to strike. “Big me would say you can’t be here so I have to too!” The child-like slur only made Janus pout.

Big me? The statement was odd but the dark side of creativity had more important matters to focus on currently. Remus smiled his normal wicked grin, it was a bit too sharp for Janus to be entirely comfortable with. However, he associated Remus as a friend when big so little him craved his companionship. Remus watched Janus look like he was going through an internal battle and observed more about the other man. He had previously been crying as evident from his red face and puffy eyes. Since it was the middle of the night he concluded Janus had had a nightmare. But that didn’t explain the outfit. The onesie could be a pajama choice but he knew from experience of bursting into Janus’s room that he didn’t normally wear onesies to sleep. Also the pacifier struck him as odd. The only time he really saw one was when Roman regressed. That felt like a lightbulb turning on in Remus’s head. The side of self preservation regressed and he was little at the moment.

“Hey Janus, are you regressed?” Remus was doing his best to make himself seem as non threatening as possible.

Janus quietly nodded at him. He seemed to still be terrified of the other side.

“That’s okay little one, Roman regresses as well. I’ve watched over him when he was small, do you want me to stay or go?” He was now kneeling by the bed so that he wouldn’t be towering over the frightened little.

Janus felt like a war was going through his head, big him might be angry for letting someone know but Remus was here and willing to take care of him. He looked at Kaa like she would hold the answers for him. Trust was all he got out of his observation and nodded. He begrudgingly took out his pacifier when he spoke.

“Stay p’ease,” Janus said before scooting over on his bed and tapping the now empty spot.

Remus happily flopped down on the bed where

Janus had told him to go. “What’s their name?” He pointed at Kaa as he asked.

“Kaa like from the Jungle Book!” Janus said excitedly and held her out for Remus to inspect.

“Well she’s very pretty. Is there anything you would like to do? It’s kind of late so maybe a certain little snake should be getting some rest?” Remus hoped the little would say he was tired and he could talk to him more when he was big.

“No! Not sleepy,” Janus said before yawning.

“Is that the truth or is there another reason you’re not sleeping?”

“Bad dreams,” Janus played with his fingers when admitting it.

“Well, I may be ‘dark’ creativity but that means I’m better at fending off bad dreams and thoughts. I’ll make sure you’re safe from nasty nightmares tonight.” Remus tried to sound as reassuring as possible.

“Promise?” Janus sounded hopeful as he looked at Remus.  
“I promise. If I fall asleep you can wake me up for anything, okay?”

Janus nodded, “Could we watch Sofia The First please?”

Remus grinned at the soft blush that crossed over Janus’s face. “Of course!”

As Remus summoned Sofia The First to play on the tv in Janus’s room he made sure it was at a low volume. Janus curled into his side and quietly sang along with the intro.

“Re?”

“Yes?”

“Thankies,” Janus quickly pressed a kiss onto his cheek and then giggled. “You’re da best!” He and Kaa quickly resituated themselves at his side and Remus felt his heart warm. He noticed the other side’s pacifier on his bedside table. Quickly grabbing it he removed the fingers Janus had snuck into his mouth and replaced them with the green and yellow paci. The calm look that washed over him as he cuddled and watched Sofia The First was refreshing. It was rare to see the other not so tightly wound. Janus’s eyes were drooping as he tried to pay attention to the show. Before the first episode had finished Janus had fallen asleep with his head on Remus’s chest and his body curled up against his side. Remus would stay there throughout the night and keep true to his word to make sure Janus didn’t have any more bad dreams.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Janus and Remus encounter Roman and Virgil while on a mission for food.

When Remus awoke the next morning he had hoped that Janus would be back in his normal headspace and they could discuss his regression. What he didn’t expect to wake up to was someone pushing and poking at him. He looked at the clock as he opened his eyes and read that it said 9:13 am.

“Ree p’ease wake up!” Janus’s tone was desperate.

“What’s wrong?” Remus was immediately searching the other for some sort of injury.  
Janus’s human side went red. “I can’t get the buttons on my onesie undone and I gotta pee really bad.”

Remus’s fingers were automatically undoing the buttons that went down the other’s snake onesie. He was mildly thankful his own outfit normally consisted of so many buttons so he could do this without too much thought. As soon as the last button was undone Janus was running to the bathroom. As Remus blinked the sleep from his eyes he assumed the other was still regressed. Dee was normally good with buttons because of his normal deceit associated outfit. Remus almost laughed at the stark contrast between the suave Deceit and the small Janus he’d seen so far.

When Janus came bounding back out of the bathroom Remus was immediately pounced on. The hug attack came from the side he had known to be the least affectionate. He wouldn’t be surprised if Janus was touch starved with the way he tended to avoid others affections like the plague. One benefit of adventuring came strength and Remus was sort of glad for his time in the imagination. He considered leaving the other in his onesie but also didn’t know if Janus would be upset that others could have seen it.

“Do you have any clothing for when you’re small?” Remus was honestly unsure if that was a normal thing or if it was just something Roman did.

Janus nodded excitedly and grabbed Remus’s hand and led him to the closet and his little stuff box. There were many colors and as much help as Remus wanted to be he tended to have a more outlandish fashion sense.

“Choose whatever you want, snakeling,” Remus let Janus choose what he wanted to change into and let him get dressed while he went and changed himself. It was dialed down from his normal outrageous wear. He tended to save this outfit for when Roman regressed because it was calmer and less startling. He had to admit the lack of eyeballs on the sleeves seemed to make Roman happier.

When he came back into Janus’s room the little was wearing a soft jumper Remus was pretty sure has once belonged to Roman and black leggings. He was struggling with the paci clip when Remus entered. Quickly swooping in and clipping it for him Remus was met with a giggle from the little.

“It’s breakfast time!” Remus excitedly chirped as he grabbed Janus’s hand.

Remus remembered on their way to the kitchen that he couldn’t really make edible food. That tended to be Janus’s job or he would just steal from the light sides’s kitchen. Since Janus was rather out of the running for cooking right now that really only left him leaving Janus to get food from the light sides or taking Janus with him.

“Rem, ‘m hungy,” Janus mumbled around his paci.

“Well we have two options, I can either go get food from the light sides’s kitchen on my own or you can come with me.”

He watched Janus fiddle with the bottom of his jumper before taking the paci clip off. Janus quietly set it on the counter beside him. The little seemed a tad bit upset to take it off and Remus watched him with confusion.

“Coming with,” Janus stated.

Janus nodded quickly confirming his decision and waited for the other to lead them. Remus just hoped no one else would be in the kitchen or at least no one would care that they were there.

Lady Luck was not on his side however as he entered the light sides’s kitchen with Deceit in tow. Remus saw both Virgil and Roman were sitting at the table. Virgil immediately hissed at the two upon entry and Remus didn’t miss the way Janus tensed up at seeing the two.

“Wow Dee, I didn’t know you owned anything outside of your normal outfit.” Roman teased.

Janus just nodded, reminding himself to keep his mouth shut if he wanted him being small to stay a secret. He imagined he was playing a game of spy with Remus as his partner. He was pretending to be big and had to fool the others and when he won the game Remus would be proud and maybe give him goldfish. Lying and self preservation was his job when in his normal headspace so he felt like he could handle pretending to be big. Especially if it was to win a game. After all, winners get goldfish. He tugged on Remus’s shirt and mumbled out goldfish hoping it was clear enough. He was handed a box of goldfish from the top shelf of the snack cabinet. Roman looked scandalized at his brother.

“Remus those are my goldfish!” Roman whines at his brother.

Remus looked shocked at his twin’s outburst and immediately became curious if he was slipping too. Janus however seemed excited about Roman liking goldfish.

“Wanna share?” He asked softly whilst rocking on his heels.

Virgil looked skeptically at Deceit, “Roman, I don’t think you should trust the two faced liar. What if he poisons your food? He’s only trying to exploit your interests.”

The only way Roman could describe the look on Janus’s face was crushed. Any hope that he had seen when the trust bridge had been extended seemed to be completely gone. It looked like the other side was tearing up but he didn’t get too long to watch him before he was gone.

“What the hell Virgil?” Remus and Roman asked at the same time.

“What? He’s Deceit, he lies, that’s his thing.”

“Janus was trying to be nice,” Roman stated.  
“He obviously was trying to take your stuff,” Virgil countered as he watched Remus collect more food in his arms.

“You’re an asshole Virgil. Roman, the offer still stands I’m sure, you’re welcome to come and share goldfish if you’d like,” Remus sunk down to go find the snake-like side.

He was searching and hunting through Dee’s room with no sight of the other. He quickly ran into his own room and was heartbroken at what he saw. Janus was quietly crying while wrapped up in Remus’s blankets. Immediately he held Janus and tried to soothe him.

“ ‘m sorry Ree.”

“It’s okay, you have nothing to be sorry for.”

“I just wanted to be nice, I thought we could have snacks and play together,” Janus wiped his eyes.

“I think Roman would’ve loved that. He loves goldfish when he’s small.”

“I’m offended, I like them when I’m big too,” Roman grumbled from the doorway. “Now I was told there were goldfish to be shared and I’m not seeing any,” Roman’s disappointed attitude was heavily overplayed but Janus still giggled at it.

Remus quickly ran and grabbed them from the kitchen and came back to see Janus giggling at whatever Roman was talking about. Janus’s eyes shot up when Remus entered the room, both for him and the goldfish he was carrying. Remus quickly distributed the goldfish into cups for the three of them.

“How old are you, darling?” Roman asked Janus.

Janus held up two fingers before shaking his head, “Three?” Janus responded between goldfish.

“Well you’re just a small thing,” Roman’s excitedly said as his eyes lit up.

Roman could tell that the goldfish was starting to trigger his brain to try and regress. But if Remus was already watching Janus he didn’t want to regress and force his brother to watch over two littles.

“Maybe I should go Re, I don’t want to bother you guys for too long.” Roman tried to excuse himself but stopped at his sleeve being grabbed.

“P’ease don’t leave! I can be bigger if I’m the issue,” Janus had a tight grip on Roman and he was mentally trying to force his regression out.

“No sweetie, no. It’s not your fault. I woke up feeling in between headspaces this morning. I’m starting to feel small myself and I don’t wanna make Re watch over me too.” Roman immediately was running his free hand’s fingers through Janus’s hair to try and soothe him.

“Ro, you can just go change and come back, I don’t mind watching both of you,” Remus said softly. “I promise.”

“I’ll be back then.”

Janus looked excited as he tackled Remus into a hug after Roman sunk out.

“Are you excited, little snake?”

Janus enthusiastically nodded his head. He was bouncing slightly where he sat as he waited on Roman to come back.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Little Roman and Janus hang out and enjoy each others company.

Roman walked into Remus’s room carrying a pink backpack that was decorated with various patches. Some were disney themed and others were just things he thought were cute. Roman opened the bag to reveal some of his little stuff including coloring books. Janus flapped his hands excitedly at the prospect of coloring. Remus noticed that Roman had changed into comfier clothing similar to Janus’s. Janus handed Roman his goldfish that he was “keeping safe from Kaa”.

“How old are you right now?”

“I’m a big boy! I’m five!” Roman grinned at his twin as he proudly stated where he was in his headspace. Remus smiled back a wicked grin and Roman giggled in return.

“What are you little ones wanting to do?” Remus easily slipped into the caretaker dynamic.

“Color!” “Watch Moana!” Janus and Roman cried out respectively.

“I think we could manage to do both of those things.”

The two littles giggled and cheered excitedly. Remus, Roman, and Janus all collected pillows and blankets from both Remus and Janus’s rooms and made a pillow fort to spend their time in. Roman pulled out his coloring books and supplies whilst Remus got Moana set up and Janus ran and grabbed the snacks Remus left in the kitchen earlier. Together they all set up their little area and the movie started. Roman was coloring a picture of Cinderella while Janus was coloring the dragon from Sleeping Beauty. Remus quietly sat back and allowed himself to relax whilst the two littles entertained themselves. Quiet humming and singing was heard from both sides of him from where the two were enjoying the movie.

They stayed like that until he felt Roman tug on his sleeve, “Ree! Lookie!”

Remus looked at the picture that Roman had colored in. “That looks great Ro! Do you want to add it to the folder?”

Remus received a nod and quickly grabbed Roman’s coloring folder. Call him sentimental but he cherished every drawing Roman did and so he kept them in a folder. He thought of it similar to putting art on a fridge but this was something he treasured a bit more. In the margins of many of the papers were doodles Roman had done of the two adventuring or just hanging out and Remus latched onto every one. Remus jumped up and found another folder for when Dee finished his picture. He felt it was good to go ahead and start the folder in case watching over him became a regular thing.

Janus quietly showed him his own coloring page. Remus cooed at it just the same and put it into the folder. He checked the time and figured out that it was around lunch time.

“Are you two hungry?” All he received was vigorous nodding in response. “Okay, I’m going to go to the light sides’s kitchen to get food. Stay here and stick together like glue,” Remus idly thought about them actually being stuck together with glue before quickly shaking the thought away.

Remus bounded off to the light side and quickly starts gathering food hoping to avoid the others this time. However, fate is really not on his side today.

“Hello Remus,” he let out a sigh of relief hearing that it was just the logical side.

“Logan.”

“Is Roman regressed with you right now? I can not locate him and I needed his expertise.”

Remus looked surprised that Roman had opened up to Logan but out of all the core sides he assumed that Logan would probably be the safest bet.

“Yeah, he’s in my room right now. I doubt he’d be too much help in his current mindset though. Perhaps I could offer some assistance? I am creativity as well.”

“Likely not. Will you tell him to come see me when he’s in his adult headspace?”

“Of course.”

Remus casually filled two sippy cups with apple juice and stuck some precooked Dino nuggets in the oven to warm up.

“Why don’t you just summon food?”

“Roman says it tastes weird.”

“Oh.” The slightly tense silence overcame the kitchen again.

“Well do you need any help?”

“Uh, Roman left his lion, Philip, upstairs in his room if you’d be willing to grab him. He’s the one probably wearing a crown,” Logan happily took the excuse to not make chit chat.

Logan returned as Remus was taking the Dino nuggets out of the oven and dumping them into a container to take back to his room. He handed Philip to Remus and checked if he needed anything else. Remus shook his head no and Logan told him to take care of the little prince. Remus smiled fondly at Logan terminology before grabbing the nuggets and Philip.  
When he opened the door to his room he saw Janus and Roman were mostly in the same place except more coloring had been done and the two were holding hands.

“I brought nuggets!” Remus exclaimed, getting the attention of the two littles.

The two cheered happily and Remus handed them the container of nuggets. He put on an episode of Sofia the first per Janus’s request. They all ate the nuggets with only a minor amount of dinosaur fights. After they had finished eating a new episode of the show had just begun. This of course meant that the two had nothing stopping them from belting the Sofia the First’s theme song.They did so with gusto dancing around acting out various parts. Roman played the role of Sofia and Janus sang the background part. Remus just clapped and cheered them on as they played. 

The show was forgotten as Roman proposed the play knights and dragons after being inspired by the castle in the show. Remus smiled and asked him who they would all play as.

“I’m the knight and I’m coming to fight the dragon. You’re big so you get to be the big dragon! Like the one from Sleeping Beauty! Then Janus can either be the prince I’m saving or a knight to fight the mean dragon with!” Roman was bouncing up and down as he described the game.

“Wanna be pwince.”

Roman quickly summoned a tiara and placed it on Janus’s head. Remus was about to scold him for summoning while little until he saw how happy Janus looked.

“Janus will get on the bed and that’ll be like his tower that Remus is guarding. Then I’ll save Janus!”

Remus nodded following Roman’s thought pattern. Roman ran out of the room and closed the door to prepare for his Dramatic Entrance. Janus jumped up and got on the bed and Remus followed. He wrapped himself around Janus with Janus’s back to Remus’s front. Janus leaned into it the hoarding cuddle as Roman threw open Remus’s door.

“You hold my prince hostage you fiend! Let him go or face my wrath!”

“Oh little knight, I think I’ll keep him. He’s a nice addition to my treasure!” Remus grinned with sharp teeth.

Janus giggled at the acting of the two brothers. Roman demanded Remus remove himself from the bed to fight him like a real dragon. Remus did so and was about to start monologuing when Roman tackled him. They hit the ground and Remus let out an oof as the air was knocked out of him. They wrestled on the ground while Janus babbled out cheers for Roman. Soon enough Remus had surrendered.

“You have bested me! You may take the prince!” Remus did his best impression of a dying dragon.

Roman happily bounced on his feet and held out his hands for Janus to take. Janus looked ecstatic and kept happily complimenting Roman.  
“Thankies for saving me!” Janus gave a quick kiss to the other little’s cheek and Roman found himself tackled in a hug. Remus smiled fondly as he observed Roman yawn.

“Are some babies tired?”

“I’m not a baby,” Roman pouted.

“I am baby and tired.” Janus grumbled out.

“How about a nap?” Remus only prayed that Roman wouldn’t put up a fight like he normally would.

He watched as it looked like Roman was about to argue when Janus went boneless on the other boy.

“Nap with me?” Janus mumbled.

Roman no longer looked at Remus like he was going to put up a fight. If Janus could get Roman not to protest a nap he would only hope that the two would regress together more often. He moved the two towards his bed after quickly summoning the pillows and blankets that had been removed. It was a well kept secret that Remus had the best blankets. Roman could never figure out how or why but they always felt soft and warm. He was about to leave after tucking the two in when he heard whispering from the two currently taking up his bed.

“Stay?” Roman asked, sounding unsure. (As if Remus would ever deny him)

“Of course little bro.”

Janus and Roman made space between them and Remus took up his residence there. Janus quickly grabbed his hand as soon as we got situated.

“You can’t drift away,” the little said, sounding very determined.

“Wha-“

“Otters hold hands when they nap so that they don’t drift away from one another. We’re stuck together like otters.” Janus said again.

Roman grabbed Remus’s other hand and smiled,  
“Otter bros?”

Remus felt like he could’ve cried. These two would officially be the death of him. “Yeah, otter bros.”

Curling into each other the three drifted off to sleep. Philip was in Roman’s free hand and Kaa in Janus’s. All three had pleasant dreams. Remus’s dream revolved around otters. He wasn’t sure if he’d ever liked a dream more.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Janus and Remus talk about everything.

Janus woke up with his brain in a fog. He opened his eyes and could immediately tell that this room was wrong. The walls were green and coated in art signature to that of Remus. Also, he wasn’t the only one in the bed which definitely is not what he remembered. He recalled waking up in his own bed from a nightmare and then being frantic. He racked his brain to try and figure out what had happened. It finally crashed on him that he had slipped but that didn’t explain the new bedmate. He sat up quickly and took in his state of dress. One of his regression outfits but thankfully not a onesie. He didn’t want to think about what he’d do if one of the others saw him in his snake onesie. Maybe if he hurried out Remus would forget he had ever shown up? Janus prayed to whatever higher power there was that everything would be forgotten as he frantically rushed out to his room.

Janus threw open his door and quickly got in his normal outfit. He packed up all of his regression stuff and put it back in the closet where it belonged. Hide and lie, self preservation and deceit, what could he be better at. He quickly snapped so the blankets and pillows that had been taken from his bed would resituate themselves. He took a deep breath as he tried to figure out his next move. He checked the clock and saw it was around 5:30. It was almost dinner time so he figured he ought to start to prepare food for the others. He slipped on his gloves and headed off the kitchen.

His brain moved more on autopilot than anything. Pasta seemed easy enough to make without creating too much of a mess. He started on the sauce only paying half attention to the task at hand. He was half zoned out when he heard a door open. The food was almost done with the pasta at this point having reached al dente. He was pulling everything off the stove when he heard a set of footsteps on the kitchen tile. Based on the cadence of the steps he assumed it to be Remus.

“Janus,” the creative side started, “we should talk.”

“I don’t believe we have anything to talk about, Remus.” Janus could feel his panic rising.

“Your regression. I took care of you while you were regressed.”

Well, subtlety had truly never been Remus’s style. “I don’t regress.”

“We both know that’s as true as Thomas being Jeffery Dahmer.”

Janus avoided Remus’s pointed stare as he started to plate the food. He took two plates to the table and put them down in front of their chairs. Remus had spent hours hand painting the chairs to make sure they were just right. Each having different designs based on the particular side. The yellow sunflowers on Janus’s always made the deceitful side happy. Remus got drinks for the two out of the fridge. They had played this game many times before.

“Janus, it’s okay if you regress. I’m not going to judge you or anything. You were nice to take care of.” The scoff the deceitful side responded with wasn’t very encouraging.

“I’m an adult, Remus. Age regressing would put me in the mind of a child which would make me weak. I can’t afford that.”

“You’re joking right? You must be. Janus, age regression is a coping mechanism. If it’s how you cope then it’s how you cope. It doesn’t make you weak. You and Roman-“

Janus quickly cut off the other side, “Roman?!”

“Yes, you two regressed together. He left sometime after you woke up to go back to the ‘light’ sides. He said something about them having their famILY movie night. How much do you remember?”

“Bits and pieces are slowly coming together. It’s all a little bit foggy though.” Janus admitted quietly as he picked at the pasta.

“Well if you have any questions, I can do my best to answer them, Double D.”

Janus stayed quiet as he ate the pasta. Remus didn’t continue any conversation as he let the other side process the information he had been given. They finished their food without anything else being said. The only sound was the clanking of silverware against plates. Janus pushed his plate aside as he looked up at Remus.

“So hypothetically, let's say I do regress and I go into a headspace of that of a child. What good does it serve you?”

“Well, it tells me that you’ve found an outlet for your problems and you’re not bottling them up. So it’s reassuring to me that you are not bottling up your feelings. Janus, when you were small it was the calmest and most relaxed I’ve ever seen you. It was pleasant.” Remus’s tone was serious.

“Oh, well,” Janus struggled with his words, “I- thank you. Truly, from what I can remember I really enjoyed being around you.”

“Well I’d hope so! Otters have you stick together after all!”

“Did I really tell you the otter thing? Oh my gosh.” Janus’s head was immediately in his hands as the human half of his face turned bright red.

Remus cracked up as he watched Janus, “If you’d like me to take care of you again, I’d be happy to. I promise you we’re a joy.”

Janus’s face flushed an even darker red as he mumbled out that he’d like that. The two continued to talk about random things while they finished dinner and cleaned up the kitchen. They were only minorly distracted with kitchen dance battles but that’s normal. When everything was said and done both went into the ‘dark side’ commons to hang out. They settled on watching a horror movie after Remus complained about being bored for the third time. The entire time Remus poked holes in the plot and made fun of the unrealistic gore. Janus just smiled fondly. Sure it wasn’t quite movie nights with the core sides but he wouldn’t change it. He loved the way Remus took pure joy in critiquing the movies they watched. This was how their movie nights went and he was happy for it.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Janus starts regressing during filming

It had been around three weeks since Remus had taken care of Janus for the first time. He had yet to see the side small again. Janus assured him it was just because his regression didn’t come around that often. However something didn’t seem quite right with that statement. Nonetheless, the intrusive side didn’t push him. Janus would come to him when he was ready. At least, he hoped he would.

The two known dark sides were hanging out in the dark commons when the tell tale summoning pull was felt. Remus quickly ducked out to pop up beside Roman and Janus followed shortly after. The snake-like side popped up beside Logan much to Virgil’s chagrin.

“Why are these two here?” Virgil asked.

“Well, intellectually speaking, they are a part of Thomas and them being here is important to get the whole opinion.” Logan responded quickly.

Janus stifled a laugh at the glare Virgil fixed Logan with. They proceeded on with the discussion. Towards the end tensions were running extremely high. Patton and Janus were once again going up against each other on morals. Patton was saying that helping Thomas’s friends move was the right thing to do. Meanwhile, Janus was petitioning that the day Thomas’s friends were moving was the day that they had set aside for a self care day. One that he would say was very important. Virgil was pushing with Patton saying that his friends were important which no one could argue with. However, Logan was on Janus’s side due to the schedule. Schedules kept them functioning and Logan had worked hard to create the one for the next two weeks. He’d honestly prefer if it wasn’t changed.

“Come on you guys! His friends are important! It’s not that Thomas isn’t, it's just that they have always been there for him!” Patton was grasping at strings at this point.

“Plus what would we say we missed for? We were too busy taking a spa day to bother helping them?” Virgil added.

“That is true, it would make me feel bad to not help them.” Thomas conceded.

“But you have yet to consider how helping them would also make you feel bad. We’ve been over and through what happens when we put others before you constantly. Everyone suffers in the long run, resentment is created against your friends and your mental health suffers. If you take a day to yourself you will all prosper. Thomas, you must see that taking care of yourself here is the right thing.” Janus pleaded with the actual person in the room.

“Listen, snake face just wants you to take care of yourself only. If he had his way you’d never help anyone because that is how he works Thomas. Self preservation is important but if you listen to him you’ll only ever help yourself! He’s trying to trick you! You can’t listen to a snake, Thomas! You’ve been taught that since you were a child. Deceit is evil and the fact that you’re listening to him might make you evil as well.” Virgil snapped with his tempest tongue slipping out.

Evil, snake face, Janus no longer cared about what was being said. Everything felt like it was too much and he just wanted to go back to his room. Let Thomas do what he wanted because Kaa was all he wanted right now. Kaa never called him mean or evil. She just let him hold her and was always nice. He didn’t want to listen to everyone’s voices because they were loud and mean. But he needed to for Thomas because Thomas needed him around.

“Janus are you okay?” Janus recognized Remus’s voice and all he could manage was a nod.

“Are you sure? You have not responded and we asked you a question.” Logan’s voice this time.

“ ‘m fine. Repeat please?” He could feel he was slipping but he had to pull this off.

“What is your vote on the matter?” Logan asked.

“He stays home,” Janus stated as he sank out of Thomas’s living room.

“That wasn’t the question though?” Roman sounded perplexed as he looked around the room.

“I believe I should go and check on him.” Logan grumbled as he sank out as well.

Remus looked mildly panicked at Logan leaving but he had to stay since they had already lost two sides. Especially the two who shared the brain cell. So he assumed it was him and Roman now campaigning for the self care day. Remus essentially argued that unless Thomas wanted some more fun Jeffery Dahmer thoughts then he might want to take the day off. Patton visibly cringed at that. The remaining sides continued arguing amongst themselves as to what the right thing to do would be.

Logan popped up outside of Janus’s room. He understood having people pop up in your room without warning and he hated it. He gave a quick rap against the door.

“Janus? Are you doing satisfactory?”

“Go ‘way.”

“I’m not leaving until I know you’re alright.”

“ ‘m fine! Go ‘way!” Janus whined through the door.

“Janus, you don’t sound quite right. I’m going to come in.” Logan stayed as he slowly opened the door.

“No!” Janus’s immediate reaction was to hide so that is what he did.

Logan walked into the deceitful side’s room to see a bright green blanket lump on the bed. Logan remembered seeing Roman and Remus share it during a movie night.

“Janus, I can tell you’re under the blanket.”

“No I’m not.”

“I can quite literally see you breathing and moving under it.”

Janus quietly pulled the blanket down. Logan stared at the other side. His face was red and puffy and his eyes were watery.

“What’s wrong?” Logan asked the other side as he watched the figurative dam break.

Janus started sobbing and practically tackled Logan. The logical side awkwardly embraced the other.

“He-he called me evil. ‘M not evil!”

“Of course you’re not evil. You’re a morally gray character at most.” Although not the most supportive thing Janus still seemed to find comfort in the statement.

Remus came barreling through the door, “Janny!! Are you around?”

“Re Re!” The regressed side jumped from Logan to Remus.

“Oh! Do we have a little snake on our hands?” Remus asked whilst Janus nodded happily.

“We?” Logan asked.

“Logan, we both know that you secretly fawn over Roman. If you’d be down to clown you can help me watch this little one.”

“I assume I wouldn’t be opposed.” Logan grumbled out.

Janus babbled excitedly at the prospect of the two watching him. “Otter!”

“Otter?” Logan asked.

“Tell about otter!” Janus requested whilst Remus smiled fondly.

“When he’s small it seems he really likes otters.”

“No drifting,” Janus mumbled shyly as he grabbed Remus’s hand.

Remus squeezed the others hand to reassure him. Remus snapped and all of them were in comfier clothes. Remus wore soft textures whilst Logan had been snapped into plaid pajama pants and a t-shirt. Janus wore pajamas covered in dragons. Logan led the other two to his room, stating that learning about otters would be easier there. Remus conjured a stuffed otter to be waiting on Logan’s bed for when they arrived. The elated look on Janus’s face when he listened to Logan whilst holding onto the Peanut, the otter, warmed the room. Remus couldn’t help but grin as he too listened to Logan infodump about the noodle like animal.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A journey into the imagination

Janus woke up from where he had dozed off when Logan had been speaking. He had thought the otters were super interesting, but he had gotten sleepy. He opened his eyes to hopefully prod someone awake to find he was alone. No one else was in Logan’s bed. He noticed a small plush dog that sat on the edge of the bed like it was trying not to be seen. He quickly held onto its paw like a lifeline and removed himself from the logical side’s covers.

“Re? Lo lo?” Janus called putting timidly.

Logan’s room was lined with bookshelves and the ceiling was painted with constellations. Although it was pretty, Janus wanted someone else to be with him. He tried to summon one of the two who had been watching him only for his summon to be denied. He tried again with more force to once again be denied. Tears were starting to collect in the small side’s eyes. Maybe Roman could help? He tried to summon Roman, thinking his hardest about the other side. He waited and received no answer. The little looked around Logan’s room. Logically he assumed they had turned out the lights to let him sleep but that meant the room was dark. What light came from the stars on the ceiling didn’t stop his brain from creating monsters out of shadows.

He let out a sob as he felt like he had been thrown into the nightmare from weeks before. Janus was alone and terrified. He stumbled over to the door and struggled with the door knob before finally managing to open it. He quickly stepped out into the hall and rushed down to Roman’s door. He knocked and did not receive an answer. Janus quietly wandered back to Logan’s door. He sat down in front of it and held the stuffed puppy close to him. He tried again to summon one of them but was met with the same crushing feeling of despair as they were denied. The deceitful side tried his best to remain vigilant to watch for Remus and Logan but soon felt exhaustion pulling him back.

Janus woke up again without knowing how long had passed to someone shaking him. He looked up and made eye contact with a certain hoodie clad emo. Panic immediately set it because if there was one person little Janus knew not to be small around, it was Virgil. He watched the other man’s mouth move but couldn’t actually comprehend most of the words. However, Janus’s eyes were following his hand motion. He unconsciously started to match his breathing to the other’s hand motion. Virgil smiled slightly that he had been able to recreate what Logan had done for him countless times. After Janus was no longer panicking Virgil decided to try and talk to him.

“What are you doing outside of Logan’s door?”

“Couldn’t find him.” Janus replied while looking down at the floor.

“He told me he was headed to the imagination with Roman and Remus a little bit ago. Why’d you need him?”

Janus’s just shrugged. “Wan’ him.”

“Listen Janus, I’m sorry about what I said earlier. I keep trying to hold up a front in front of Thomas and I’m trying to stop and-“

Janus put his hand up, “Later, won’t remember now. Take me to Logan please.”

Virgil looked confused but nodded and agreed to lead the other through the imagination. Janus quietly followed behind Virgil at length. Virgil noticed the stuffed dog Janus was clutching to his chest.

“Are you alright?”

“ ‘m fine, just wanna see Lo and Re.”

“You gave them nicknames?”

Janus panicked internally, he thought he'd been doing so good to act big. “Uh, yeah.”

Virgil just shrugged and they walked in silence to the imagination. Once inside the imagination Janus tried his best not to be distracted by the pretty things that had been created. He loved all of the pretty flowers that had been created. Virgil finally found the three where they were arguing over by a river.

“Yo nerds! Someone was looking for you all.” Virgil called out.

The three sides turned around to Janus looking at the ground.

“Hey Dee Dee!” Remus called out.

Janus couldn’t stop his lip from quivering as he was quickly running to Remus and tackled him in a hug. He was crying and shaking as Remus wrapped his arms around him stroking his back and trying to comfort him.

“What’s wrong, little snake?” Remus asked softly.

“W-woke up and you gone.” Janus mumbled into his shoulder.

Remus felt his heart shatter, literally or metaphorically he was unsure. He looked up at Logan and Roman who looked equally upset.

“I’m sorry little one, we were trying to do something for you. We didn’t think you would wake up while we were gone.” Roman said.

“Tried to summon.”

“Sweetheart, summoning sides while they are in the imagination doesn’t work very well. Especially when one is small,” Remus said.

“We’re very sorry for leaving and upsetting you but would you like to see your surprise?” Logan asked with a smile.

Janus nodded quickly before whispering something in Remus’s ear. Remus's eyes quickly met Virgil’s and the anxious side quickly averted his stare. Remus quietly asked for confirmation from Janus before motioning Virgil over to their group. Virgil hesitantly joined the group and the three led the little to the river. Janus held onto Logan’s hand as he watched something swiftly move through the water. Before he could stop himself he felt the excited squeal make its way out of his throat.

“Are those otters?” He asked, trying to contain his excitement.

“Indeed. We needed all three of us here in order to create the otter correctly.” Logan explained to the smaller side.

Janus was bouncing with excitement as one of the otters came closer. They hadn’t told Janus yet but the boys had made the otters be friendly to humans/sides. Logan filled him in on the facts the little had missed when he fell asleep. The three had set out a blanket and Janus, Logan, and Remus were sitting on it all together while Roman and Virgil were a bit farther from the group.

“So uh, I’ve never seen Janus act like this, what’s up with him?” Virgil asked.

“Janus regressed like I do,” Roman began, “and if I find out you ever make fun of or hurt him about this or while he’s like this we’re going to have an issue.” Roman spoke with utmost sincerity as he remained eye contact with Virgil.

Virgil put up his hands in surrender, “I won’t Roman. Honestly. I’m trying to do better and I’m sorry for how I’ve treated the others and even you guys up to now. I promise I’m going to try and do better.”

Roman smiled softly at the other, “As long as you’re sincere.”

“Oh my dearest brother from another mother! Someone wants you!” Remus yelled at the two.

“We’re literally twins, Remus.” Roman grumbled back. “Come on Virgil, might as well join the party.”

The two sat down on the blanket as well. Janus made grabby hands at Roman as soon as he sat down. He quickly pulled the other into a hug and Janus babbled happily. After Janus was done with his hug he made grabby hands at Remus who took Janus from Roman. Janus practically nested himself in Remus’s lap. He started playing with Remus’s hand and fingers while the others talked above him. Janus quietly babbled every once in a while and the others just mumbled or cooed in response.

“So how old is he like in this state of mind?” Virgil asked.

“Earlier I think he was around three but I’d say he’s smaller now.” Logan stated.

Remus asked Janus how old he was and watched the boy try and figure it out. He held up one finger and then shrugged. He reached back out for Remus’s fingers and went back to playing with them.

“Do you want your paci?” Roman asked Janus.

Janus glanced at Virgil and then looked up at Remus nervously.

“No one will make fun of you, baby snake.” Remus stated firmly. If anyone tried they would be in for a world of hurt.

Janus grabbed Remus’s hand again and then nodded. He felt a pacifier enter his mouth and he giggled and babbled happily around it. His hands were entertained by Remus’s fingers and he was watching the otters in the river playing and fishing. They sat like that for around an hour. It was getting darker and Logan felt a slight tug that he recognized as Patton.

“I believe we are being called back for dinner,” Logan stated as he stood up.

“Could you bring Janny and I something down?” Remus asked to the other sides present.

“Let me check with Patton but I assume you can probably join.” Logan said and then sank out.

Remus set Janus down in order to stand. He watched Janus make grabby hands. He quickly picked up the side and shifted him so he could carry him easily. Logan popped back up by the group.

“Patton said you all may join but he hasn’t been informed of Janus’s current state.”

“Maybe we shouldn’t, I’m not sure if Janus is comfortable letting dear old daddy know,” Remus grumbled.

“He’s alright with my regression in theory but he’s never been around me when I’m little. So I can’t speak for if he’d do alright with Janus.” Roman added.

The three stood in deliberation for another moment before Janus mumbled ‘hungry’ at Remus. The caregiver sighed and nodded.

“We’ll go. But if Patton makes one rude remark about him then I will remove his ears and shove th-“ Remus began but was cut offs

“Alright. I don’t believe I want to hear the rest of that threat but we’ll keep him in check, Remus.” Virgil tried to soothe the other.

With that they headed towards the living room and kitchen combo of the light side commons. Janus held the puppy he had found earlier in Logan’s room in between him and Remus.

“Who is this?” Remus asked.

Janus shrugged, “Lo Lo.”

Remus looked at Logan and didn’t expect the flushed face Logan had. “Their name is Snickers, and they’re mine. I guess he found them in my room.”

Janus babbled and Remus could vaguely understand the word Snickers being in the baby babble. As the group entered the light sides’ commons Virgil and Roman took the lead with Logan and Remus trailing behind. Remus could hear the muffled voices of Patton, Roman, and Virgil up ahead. Remus felt something soft against his cheek and recognized it as Janus having Snickers give him little kisses. He grinned at the little and pressed a quick kiss to the top of his head before they entered the kitchen. 

“Hey kiddos! What’s up with Janus?” Patton asked as soon as his eyes landed on the deceitful side.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patton meets regressed Janus and Janus lets Logan know some information he might not have meant to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about this chapter taking so long! My phone broke so I did not have a way to write for a little while :)

Janus shifted in Remus’s hold and buried his head in the other’s shoulder. The little let out a small whine and had no desire to verbalize more than that.

“He’s regressed,” Roman stated bluntly from his seat at the table.

“That’s like the kiddo thing that you do, right?” Patton asked.

“Precisely, padre.”

“Okie dokie, well you kiddos are absolutely welcome to join our little dinner celebration. Tonight we’re having tacos but if you guys don’t like that I’m sure there is something else we can make for you.” Patton smiled as he spoke.

Remus waited on the others to take their normal spots and see what chairs were open. He was thankful that there were two together in between Logan and Virgil. He set Janus down in the chair beside Logan and then sat down in the seat beside Virgil. The food on the table was served family style. Everything was placed in the middle of the table and you took what you wanted. Remus prepared a plate for Janus, avoiding the foods he didn’t like or hated the texture of, before moving onto his own. Tacos were one of the ‘dark sides’ staple foods and Remus had never been more thankful for it. He knew exactly what Janus would want and how he wanted it.

Remus looked up to see Virgil and Patton both watching him with intrigue, “Yes?”

Virgil immediately looked down at his plate and started to eat. Patton however didn’t avoid the question, “I’ve never seen you act like this, Remus.”

“Oh.”

“There’s nothing wrong with it of course! It’s just a different side of you kiddo. I’ve personally never witnessed it.” Patton rushed to say.

“Well, ya know,” Remus vaguely gestured at Janus as he trailed off.

The table returned to silence for a little while before the normal dinner chatter picked up. Somehow they managed to get on the topic of whether or not hotdogs would be considered sandwiches. The dinner debate was friendly. It was a different atmosphere than when they filmed. Roman threatened to lunge across the table when Remus casually suggested that hotdogs could be considered a form of taco. Remus considered the reaction a win. Janus didn’t really focus on the words and just followed whoever was talking with his eyes. They had all finished eating and were just chatting by the time Janus pulled on Logan’s sleeve. Logan looked at Janus to see the little playing with Snickers. The stuffed puppy looked at Logan before kicking their legs excitedly. The logical side smiled at seeing Snickers get played with. He felt soft taps to his leg as Janus babled whilst playing at the table. Logan understood the little was probably tired of sitting at the table and just listening. Remus was deeply involved in whatever the conversation had moved to at the table so he figured he could distract Janus for a little while. Logan led Janus to the living room after putting their plates in the sink.

“Play?” Janus tilted his head to the side.

“What would you like to play?”

Janus shrugged before looking panicked, “Forgot Peanut!” The little took off running towards Logan’s room.

Logan rushed after him not quite sure what the little was going on about. He saw Janus frozen in front of the logical side’s open door.

“What’s wrong?”

“Monsters in da dark,” Janus replied.

Logan quickly flipped the light switch on the wall and watched the tension fall from Janus’s shoulders.

“Is that what scared you earlier, little one?”

“Woke up ‘nd it was dark and scary. Was ‘lone and monsters were in da room.”

“No monsters are in here. I can assure you.”

Janus held up his pinky at Logan’s statement and Logan quickly interlocked them in a promise.

“Is that why you freaked out earlier? Due to you being alone and in the dark?” Logan inquired.

“Not big problem being lone. Alone a lot. But I no like da dark.” Janus stated as he went to look for the stuffed otter.

“What do you mean you’re alone a lot? Do you mean when you’re big or little?” From what he’d seen Janus could be pretty small and he hoped he just meant when he was big. However, he didn’t like the implication he was alone a lot when he was big either.

“Both.”

“You know you can get any of us when you’re big or small. We don’t want you to be alone.”

“I no wanna be a bother.” Janus had the newly found Peanut and Snickers clutched tightly to his chest.

“You’re not a bother, Janus. How often do you drop?”

“Every couple of days.” The s was hissed.

“How often do you go to someone?”

“Remus watch me a few weeks ago!”

“Was that the last time?” Concern laced Logan’s voice.

“Only time someone watch me beside today.”

“Janus, you can absolutely come to any of us when you’re small. You don’t have to hide this anymore. Can you promise me you’ll go to someone the next time you’re feeling little?” Janus hesitated but nodded.

“Pinky promise?” Logan asked and stuck out his pinky.

Janus offered his pinky and they once again linked them together. Janus played with his fingers as he tried to put his thoughts together. Hesitantly, Janus pushed Snickers into Logan’s hands and used Peanut to wave at the plush dog. Logan smiled and used Snickers to interact with the otter. The logical side led Janus back to the living room where they would have more room to play. The little was more verbal now so Logan assumed he was probably in a slightly older headspace then he had been in the imagination. He figured he should talk to Remus about what Janus had said about being alone. That could wait until they were both free though.

The voices from the kitchen started to move closer and Logan and Janus soon found themselves surrounded by the other sides. Janus grinned and babbled excitedly at Remus as soon as he realized the other side had entered in. The little could only think about how Remus had held him in the imagination. He wanted that to happen again but he didn’t know how to ask for it. He continued to play with Peanut and Snickers until Logan ruffled his hair and stood up. He tilted his head to the side to try and get his question across as to why Logan had stopped playing but the other side was already moving to an actual seat. Janus was left as the only side on the floor but he didn’t want to be on the floor anymore. He couldn’t figure out how to make the words to say what he wanted to come out though. He ended up whining and looking at Remus until the side looked at him. Then he activated grabby hands mode and Remus patted the couch beside him.

It wasn’t exactly what Janus had hoped for he’d take what he got. He sat on the couch beside Remus and decided to slowly try and maneuver his way onto the caregivers lap. All of the other sides were wrapped up in their own debate on what movie they should put on. They eventually all settled on Nightmare Before Christmas and made sure that it wouldn’t bother the regressed side. Janus just nodded to the question he hadn’t really listened to. The little used his head to wiggle into the spot between Remus’s arm and torso. Remus took the hint and wrapped an arm around the embodiment of self preservation. As the movie went on, and the two dark sides technically crashed the light sides movie night, Janus continued on his mission. Remus would occasionally ask him if everything was alright but Janus couldn’t manage to verbalize. He would nod or whine but couldn’t get his point across. He tried to think back to what he did to get held last time and realized that grabby hands had been the trick. He tapped on the dark half of creativity’s shoulder and made the grabbing motion when he turned.

“Do you want a hug, snakling?” Remus only received a shake of a head and a whine in response.

The motion continued and Remus racked his brain for what the other could want, “Held?”

Janus’s eyes lit up and he nodded enthusiastically, “All you had to do was ask.” 

Remus rolled his eyes fondly as Janus happily situated himself on his lap. Janus wrapped the other’s arms around him and curled into the other’s chest. The little was almost content with the situation. One thing was missing though. Before he could ask he felt a pacifier in his mouth and happily melted into Remus. After a little bit the Oogie Boogie man’s song came on. Janus tucked his head into Remus’s chest whilst the song was on. He hadn’t planned to doze off but the allure of sleep during the current circumstances was too strong. Logan looked over at the two and asked if Janus was asleep. Remus nodded to say he was and Logan mumbled that he needed to talk to Remus later. 

After the movie eventually ended the sides were all in various states of consciousness. Patton was half asleep and leaning on Virgil, Roman was sort of dozing next to Logan, and Logan had stopped paying attention to the movie to read around 30 minutes in. As the credits rolled they woke up the sleeping sides minus Janus, to corral them up to their various rooms.

“Hey dumbass, can you take the little eel to his room so I can talk with Logan?” Remus chuckled at his brother's expression.

“Fine, come on snakling,” Roman led the sleepy little towards his room.

“Remus, how often is Janus little?” Logan asked as soon as it was only the two of them in the living room.

“He told me he tends to drop rarely. The last time was around three weeks ago I think.”

“I was afraid of that. He let it slip to me earlier that he actually drops every couple of days,” Remus’s face looked shocked at the revelation. “He promised he’d go to someone the next time he was feeling small so I assume we will find out.”

“We’ll keep an eye out for him.” Remus said as he summoned an eye in his hand.

Logan groaned at the play on words. They bid each other goodnight and Remus went to go check on his brother. Roman had yet to return which mildly worried him. Remus walked down the hallway to Janus’s open door and saw Roman speaking to Janus. Janus was wrapped up in a blanket that Remus definitely knew was his own. He heard Roman say the end and smiled at the idea that the other half of creativity had been telling Janus a bedtime story. Janus babbled out something that sounded like a thank you at Roman.

“He’s all yours. I didn’t want to leave him alone.” Roman explained to Remus’s unasked question.

As soon as Roman had left Janus was trying to get out of his bed, “Whoa! Where do you think you're going?”

Janus pointed at him as he managed to untangle himself from the blanket and stumble out of his bed. Remus quickly scooped him up when it looked like the other might actually fall over.

“You have to go to bed.” Janus pointed at him again and pointed out the door. “You want me to leave?” The little was shaking his head no and repeated the action with a whine.

Remus hesitated before he asked, “My room?”

Janus nodded and babbled excitedly when Remus started to move down the hall. Remus opened his door and closed it on the way in. Setting the little down on his bed, Janus immediately made a nest of the blankets. He waited for Remus to climb into the bed before curling into his side and practically purring when Remus pulled him closer.

“Story?” Janus asked quietly.

“Are you sure?” Janus nodded.

Remus began his story. It was a bit darker than Roman’s but Janus loved it all the same. He included dragons and let them win instead of the knights. Remus only made it through a little bit of the story before he heard the deceitful side’s breathing even out. He whispered out a goodnight and snapped all of the lights off except a night light in the corner.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Janus deals with lying about how often he drops. He also drops while filming a video and asks for help from someone he didn’t expect to.

Janus awoke pleasantly warm and worked to make sense of his current situation. The deceitful trait registered another side’s presence beside him. Judging by the white streak of hair he could see poking out of the blankets he found it fairly easy to assume it to be Remus. The comforting grip of sleep attempted to lure the side back into its warm embrace. However, his bladder took precedence so he chose to ignore its lovely siren call. He begrudgingly left the blankets and went into the bathroom attached to Remus’s room.

Janus stared in the mirror at his reflection as he washed his hands. He knew for a fact that he did not own these dragon pajamas before yesterday. He also knew that there was no way he was returning them if at all possible. He felt and looked better then he had in awhile. He knew that him being little was important and helpful but he hated being around people when he was. It was embarrassing and he felt like it took away any power he had. He could remember some of what happened yesterday and his face flushed with embarrassment. All of them had seen him. Patton and Virgil had found out and now he was positive they would make fun of him. He was sure that they would not let him talk at their meetings anymore. He snapped his clothing into his normal outfit and mentally teleported the pajamas into his room. He took a deep breath and exited the bathroom into Remus’s domain.

Remus was sitting up in his bed when Janus walked in. A tired wave and yawn was Remus’s greeting to the other man. Janus nodded and mumbled out a thank you in reference to being cared for. Remus grinned and responded ‘anytime’.

“So I assume you’re not small anymore?”

“Uh, no. I’m back to normal.” Janus confirmed.

Remus didn’t hesitate before asking, “Why’d you lie?”

Janus’s breath caught in his throat. He swallowed the lump and took a deep breath before speaking, “Lie about what?”

“How often you drop,” Remus stated bluntly. “You told me that you drop infrequently but Logan told me that you said you dropped every few days. Why didn’t you tell me? Is that why you pull away every couple of days? Janus I-“.

Remus was interrupted by a knock on the door and a saccharine sounding voice. “Hey there kiddos. We’re having pancakes for breakfast and we’re hoping you would both join us.”

“We’ll be there Daddy-o,” Remus yelled before Janus could say anything. He waited a moment before speaking again, “We can continue this conversation after breakfast.”

Janus nodded in agreement at the not quite request. He quietly tugged his gloves on from where they were sitting on the nightstand whilst Remus got dressed. Janus breathed a sigh of relief at the familiar feeling of the cloth on his hands. The black hat that also resided on the nightstand was fiddled with before he placed it upon his head. Remus was dressed and ready by the time Janus was moving toward the door. Remus ushered Janus out of his room and down the stairs to the kitchen area. The deceitful trait walked into the dining room with his eyes focused on his feet. His mind was running through how this scenario would play out. The others would ostracize him and then Remus would tear into him as soon as they got back to their half of the mindscape. Maybe Remus would take him to the imagination and feed him to some creature he created. At least he wouldn’t have to face any of the other sides again. He somewhat wished that Remus would feed him to one of his beasts before breakfast.

That however didn’t happen. He still had to approach the breakfast table and no creature had eaten him. He could feel Remus’s glare on him and he quietly took a seat next to Logan. Virgil was eyeing the two dark sides as Remus sat down beside Janus. Pancakes were placed in front of all of the sides and toppings were placed in the middle of the table.

“I don’t know how you guys take your pancakes so I brought everything over.” Patton explained as he took his seat at the table.

“Thank you, Patton.” Janus stated quickly putting up a facade of neutrality.

The sides continued to eat in silence before Virgil spoke up, “Holy shit, there is so much tension between you two. Is there trouble in paradise or something? I can feel the anxiety pouring off Janus in waves.”

“Everything is fine, I apologize. I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop,” Janus spoke up quickly before Remus could say anything.

“The other shoe to drop?” Logan asked.

“I am a little. I’m waiting on you guys to kick me out of the group and for Remus to feed me to a creature in the imagination. That is how I assume this will work out and I’m waiting on you guys to let me have it.” All of the side’s faces looked horrified.

“Janus, we would never do that. No one is against you being a little. Roman is a little and no one is ever upset with him for regressing.” Logan stated with a tone that did not invite an argument.

“Dee, the only reason I’m upset with you is because you lied about how often you go into little space. I’m not angry that you regress. I’m just hurt that you didn’t trust me enough to tell me you dropped frequently.” Remus stated immediately after Logan.

“I said I dropped infrequently because I didn’t want to be a bother. I kept telling myself that if I was too small that I would go to someone. I thought I’d be able to but then I was nervous to leave my room every time and just stayed wrapped in my blankets. Kaa watched over me so it was fine.” Janus hoped that they wouldn’t make him talk about what he did while he was alone.

“Jan, you really don’t have to do that. We all know now and so you can come to any of us when you’re small and someone will take care of you.” Roman emphasized.

“I’m sorry, I’ll try to do better.”

“That’s all we ask, kiddo.”

A smirk fell over Janus’s feature as he quickly piped up, “Not kiddo right now.”

Virgil snickered from across the table and Patton’s eyes lit up at the joke. They continued to eat in a more relaxed manner and Janus let his guard down a bit. Remus seemed to be placated and was joking around like he normally would. The blanketing calm was something all the sides were happy about. It was honestly too early to deal with heavy topics and Janus was happy that their conversation involving little him seemed to be over.

* * *

It had been around 4 days since the first breakfast spent together and all of the sides were currently summoned in Thomas’s living room. The 6 sides were going through their scripts and bouncing lines and reactions off of one another. Although the core sides were being nicer to the dark sides in their actual lives, they hadn’t gotten to the point in the series where that could be shown. Thus Janus and Remus were mentally preparing themselves for a few verbal beat downs. Remus was managing much better then Janus in that field. The deceitful side had been bouncing in between headspaces the entire day. He had pushed down headspace plenty of times before but it wasn’t working as well today.

The snakelike side was sitting on the couch whilst Roman and Remus were filming. Logan and Patton were reading off their lines for the twins to react too. So it was just Virgil and himself sitting on the couch. The two had less lines then normal so they were waiting on their turns to film. Janus had an issue however, he was cold. Internally his smaller headspace was begging to be held to warm up but appearances were important to him.

“Virgil, I am most definitely not cold and was wondering if I could perhaps borrow your jacket.”

“I have to keep it for filming,” Virgil watched Janus’s face fall and quickly started talking again, “but you could borrow my old one.”

Virgil summoned his old jacket from before their costumes changed. He passed it to Janus who was surprised by the heavier nature of the garment. The old jacket was weighted and Janus could have cried. He’d get to be warm and feel a little bit like he was being held. Even though Virgil was slightly taller than him, he hadn’t expected for the jacket to be so loose. The smaller side was practically swimming in the jacket which did not help his issue of staying in an older mindset. All of the other sides were busy except Virgil and he’d made a promise to tell someone. Sure Deceit lies but he was not going to break a sacred pinky promise.

“Um, Virgil? Could I talk to you in the kitchen please?” Virgil raised an eyebrow at the request but followed Janus into the kitchen nonetheless.

Janus might have underestimated how long he could refrain from being small, “Virgil, I’m regressing.”

“Oh, uh, should I get somebody?”

“No! Lo made me promise to tell somebody but they’re all busy so I decided to tell you!” Janus looked minorly proud of himself.

“Okay, well we have to be ready to film. Why don’t we go sit back down and you can play games on my phone? Do you need anything before we go?” Virgil looked like he was going to start listing everything including the kitchen sink.

“Juice?” Virgil nodded and passed the other an apple juice box he found in the fridge.

Virgil nodded and the two headed back onto the couch. Janus sat down directly next to Virgil and leaned against him while he drank his juice. The embodiment of anxiety passed the other his phone and watched over him as he played. Virgil almost laughed at the look of concentration that passed over the lying side’s face as he opened Neko Atsume. Virgil hadn’t remembered he had the game but Janus looked determined to have cats show up. He cycled through various apps whilst the others continued filming.

Janus was happily leaning on Virgil until Thomas called upon the anxious side to read lines. The smaller side watched with mild interest as the others acted out their parts. He vaguely recognized it as the scene where they would all argue and then he was supposed to show up and silence them. He didn’t want to do his part and he definitely didn’t want to listen to the other sides argue. Janus held his apple juice and Virgil’s phone a little tighter as they started their lines. He’d have to listen to the scene multiple times whilst they filmed everyone. The thought of listening to the arguing was distressing especially when little. He listened as Patton said a rather harsh remark to Remus and the other side overplayed how much it hurt. The reaction of pain looked real enough to the side who currently had the mind of a toddler.

Janus fisted his hands in the jacket and quickly called out for everyone to take a five minute water break. Thomas begrudgingly agreed that they should all take a break as most of them had been recording for quite a while at this point. The small side was quick to scamper over to Remus who looked quizzically at him.

“That’s an interesting outfit choice,” Remus said as arms wrapped around him.

“Vi Vi let me borrow it! It's warm and cozy! But that not what ‘m here for,” the little stomped to try and get his point across, “you sad.”

Remus figured out the other was regressed rather quickly, “I’m not sad snakling.”

“Mhm, you looked hurt when Patton was bein a meanie. You can’t say no to facts,” the regressed side looked excited as he looked over to where Logan was watching them from. “I brought facts Lo Lo! Are you proud? I did the reasoning thingy!”

Logan chuckled softly as he approached Remus with water, “It’s very nice to see the brain cell still works even when you’re small.”

“See! Logan agrees with me and he’s smart so I think that means I’m right.”

“I was acting, snakling. I’m not actually hurt by what Patton said since it was just a part of the script. How long have you been regressed?” 

“A lil bit,” Janus said as a blush covered his features. “I’ve been trying not to for most of da day. But I kept my promise! I told Vi Vi and he gave me juice an’ let me play games on his phone!”

“That’s great. Thank you for telling someone, Janus.” Logan said. Remus mouthed thank you at Virgil whilst the little was distracted by Logan’s praise.

Virgil sent a thumbs up at the intrusive side in response. Remus smiled a sharp smile and tuned back into the conversation going on in front of him. Logan was currently explaining to Janus that although Remus looked hurt it wasn’t him being truly hurt. He quickly told the little he was still proud of him for reasoning and that it was good that he jumped on Remus’s reaction in case it was real.

“So kiddo, how old are you then?” Patton piped up.

“Three!” Janus turned to look at the other sides and his eyes landed on Roman. “Small?”

Roman smiled quickly before shaking his head, “Not right now.”

Janus pouted before his eyes lit up, “Up then?”

Roman held out his arms and quickly scooped the regressed side up. Janus was happily wrapped in Virgil’s old jacket and being held by Roman when the situation came back into focus. Thomas and Joan stood watching the interaction perplexed.

“So, who wants to explain what’s going on?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I made a tumblr and it’s under the same name as here. SandersRegression. I’m sorry it took a while to update :)

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first work and I’m really nervous about it. However, constructive criticism and just comments in general are welcome :)


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